


At Comic Con

by shayasar



Series: Torchwood RPS [1]
Category: Torchwood RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-21
Updated: 2012-11-21
Packaged: 2017-11-19 05:35:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/569666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shayasar/pseuds/shayasar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is what happens after the Torchwood panel at Comic Con 2008.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At Comic Con

**Author's Note:**

> So back in 2008, this was my first attempt at RPS or to spell it out Real Person Slash. I was never planning on writing something like this, although I love to read it *lol* After watching the Torchwood panel on YouTube and looking at hundreds of pictures, this idea stole its way into my mind and I had to write it down. 
> 
> There are some facts in this, but I bent them to fit my story a bit, so this is in no way real!! It's just from my wicked mind.

"Damn, are you insane?" Gareth whispered to John when they left the stage after the panel. 

John looked at him uncomprehendingly, but he had no chance to ask what Gareth meant as Naoko squeezed between the men. 

"That was fun!" She exclaimed and put her arms around each of the men's waists. "They really loved us." 

John smiled at her. "Yeah, I think it was brilliant! Did you hear the cheers for everything we said? It's unbelievable how big Torchwood has become here in the US." 

Naoko nodded excitedly. "And they are all really going for the Jack and Ianto relationship, I thought half the audience was going to faint, when you pretended to kiss Gareth up there." She lowered her gaze and giggled, missing the angry look John received from Gareth. 

They needed to talk, but just as John wanted to pull Gareth somewhere private, Gavin appeared in front of him, an excited grin on his face. 

"So Captain Harkness goes Captain America! I thought we wanted to keep this one under wraps for now?" Having said that he dragged John with him. 

Looking back at Gareth, John saw that Naoko was taking care of the young man, still talking animatedly and pulling her colleague along, probably to the green room to grab a bite before going back to their signing booth. 

John sighed and promised himself to talk to Gareth at the next possible moment, but for now, he was suddenly surrounded by his family who chatted happily away, congratulating him for making the panel so much fun and reprimanding him for being so cheeky in front of the kids who were in the audience as well. Scott was staying in the background, watching him with a wary expression. John had no time to think of that either, when Gavin dragged him along to the press room where several journalists were waiting to get a short interview with him. 

So it wasn't for a couple of hours later, that John found the time to get something to eat in the greenroom. Gareth and Naoko weren't anywhere to see, there were just a few guys from that Stargate show sitting on a table and laughing. 

Normally John would ask if he could join them, but today he preferred to sit alone and eat in private. There were too many things going through his head. The offer of the role of Captain America, Scott being so distant and first and foremost Gareth's comment and looks after the panel. John hurried to finish his late lunch at made his way to his signing table, relieved to find Gareth there sitting with Naoko, laughing at something she just said. There were a lot of people queuing in front of his table, but he was happy to see the line in front of Gareth's and Naoko's tables as well. Sighing he straightened up and plastered a smile on his face he wasn't really feeling and strolled to his table. Sometimes it was good to be an actor, no one could tell, he wasn't really that happy as he let show. 

Well, no one except Gareth obviously, because one glance at the young man told John that he looked through his facade. But again there was no time for a chat, he had to sign and be a happy smile for his fans, but his heart wasn't really in it. 

The queue seemed to get only longer than shorter and John got tired with the time. But he smiled at every person who stepped up to him, said hello and thank you and goodbye. Every once in a while he glanced over at Gareth, who wasn't that busy anymore and took more time to chat to his fans, even got up to take photos with them, but John could tell, the young man wasn't really into it as well. He had caught him once glancing over, he had smiled at him, but Gareth looked away when he saw that John was watching him. 

It was early evening when the last group of fans got their autographs and John put the pen down and stretched his arms. He heard his family talking about going to a restaurant for dinner and sighed inwardly. He wasn't really up for a Barrowman dinner. As much as he loved his family, he was tired and didn't think he could manage an evening full of loud chatting and laughter. Staying up until 3am for the live link to the UK was taking its toll. So he excused himself and asked one of the con assistants to call a cab for him. Scott gave him the same wary expression as before, but said nothing. He just kissed him and told him to rest before Clare pulled him along, following her mother and her grandparents. 

John sighed again and was glad when the assistant told him a cab was waiting for him at the backstage door. 

He didn't notice Gareth standing behind the corner, listening. 

\------- 

When John opened the door to his hotel room he embraced the silence of the air conditioned room. Letting the door fall shut behind him, he leaned against the smooth wood and took a deep breath. He was angry with himself for not talking to Gareth, but they didn't have a second for themselves. He had missed the young man, they had seen each other shortly in Toronto, but the last time they really had time for themselves was back in March, when they shot the final episodes of Doctor Who. 

John threw his bag on the table and was just pulling his shirt over his head when a knock at the door startled him. Why was Scott not using his key card? But when he opened the door the comment died in his throat. Gareth was standing in front of him with an expression mixed of anger, guilt, desire and sadness. 

"Can I come in?" 

"I... uhm," John stuttered before stepping aside. "Yeah, sure. Come on in." 

Gareth squeezed past him, avoiding every body contact and starting to pace the second he was further in the room. 

John pulled his shirt on again, which he still had been holding in his hand and stepped warily closer to Gareth. "You okay?" 

That caused Gareth to spin around and look at him angrily. "If I'm okay you ask? Oh wait, let me see... You pretend to kiss me in front of five thousand fans, which is not the problem here, no you did it with Scott and your whole family sitting in the audience as well. And did you stop with that? No, you kept touching me every five seconds and fortunately there was a cover over the desk or they could have seen your leg nudging me every two seconds. Damn John! How could you?" 

John took a step back, startled by Gareth's outburst. "But I didn't think that... " 

"Exactly! You didn't think! Do you ever think? Fuck you John." 

"But I was only playing the character, no one thought anything else," John argued. 

"Except me," Gareth silently confessed and ran his fingers through his short hair, making it stand up in every direction. "And probably Scott." 

John swallowed hard. He didn't think of that, Gareth was right, he just never took the time to think. John sat down heavily on the bed folding his hands in his lap, staring at his fingers, his ring. The ring he shared with Scott since their civil partnership. 

"How are we supposed to get along when we start shooting in a few weeks?" Gareth pulled a chair out from under the table and fell on it, burying his face in his hands. "I've spent the last few months trying to get you out of my head, John. Ever since we..." He didn't continue. 

He didn't have to. John knew what he was talking about. They had always had a special bond, a special understanding of each other, but since the writers had pushed for the Jack/Ianto relationship in season 2 and they had all those scenes together, something else came out of it. Not only Jack and Ianto got closer, but John and Gareth found themselves in each other's trailers more often as well. At first to run lines, then to talk about how to handle the kissing scenes, the sex scene, all those subtle intimate moments. Then they started to talk about other things and really enjoyed the company. When they learned about Tosh's and Owen's deaths they were devastated and searched for comfort, holding each other close for hours. So one thing led to another and they were kissing for real. No rehearsal, but a real genuine kiss. They had sworn to each other that it would stay at this one kiss, but they soon sought out each other again, cuddling in John's house when Scott was in London. In the end it came as it had to come and they ended in bed one night, John showing Gareth how much fun it can be with two blokes having sex. 

Gareth had woken up the other morning, guilt stricken and had told John, they had to stop. He wouldn't be the one who destroyed a 15 year relationship. They both had taken their time off the Torchwood and Doctor Who set as a sign to bury their feelings. Gareth took it harder than John, he even broke up with his girlfriend, looking for distraction in another girl. 

They didn't do the same conventions until the offer for Comic Con came up. And when Gareth was doing the con in Toronto he couldn't resist visiting John at the Maria taping. He knew it was a mistake the second they hugged for the hello. The feelings for the older man were still there and he had found an excuse to leave early again, so not to be confronted with John's family and Scott. 

But then came Comic Con, there was no way he could escape this time, so he took it as the opportunity to try to deal with his feelings and prepare for the Torchwood shoot in August. Then John had almost kissed him in front of everyone. Gareth had played along and kept the innuendo going during the panel, but he was painfully aware of the closeness to John and it was hard to concentrate, which showed in his stuttered answers to the questions. 

Now he was sitting in John's hotel room and had no idea how to go on from here. 

"I'm sorry Gareth." John spoke finally up. 

Gareth lifted his head and looked at the other man. "God, I've missed you so much." A tear was escaping and rolling down his cheek. John was at his side in an instant and took him in his strong arms. Gareth relaxed into the other man, burying his face into his shoulder, inhaling the unique scent of John. 

"I've missed you too." And it was true, there was no day, when he hadn't thought of the younger man, busying himself with work to distract him from that beautiful face. 

"What are we going to do?" 

"I don't know." John pulled Gareth up and led him to the bed. 

The young man resisted when he realized what John was going to do. "No, we can't, John. Scott can be here any minute!" 

"He is with my family, they will at least be gone for another hour." John tugged at Gareth's hand and pulled the other man to lie beside him on the bed. Gareth instantly snuggled into the embrace, fitting perfectly against John's body. 

John pressed a kiss on Gareth's hair and started to play with the short strands. 

"I really missed this." 

"Me too, but we can't keep it up. It's just not fair. I won't get between you and Scott." 

"Why can't I have you both?" 

"Because we're not in the 51st century. Remember, this is the 21st century with its quaint little categories." 

John chuckled. "Too bad." But he got serious a moment later. "But I'm not prepared to give this up, to give you up. I love Scott with all my heart, but you own a pretty big chunk of my heart as well. I don't know if I can stop looking at you the way I do." 

"I don't think, I can stop either. I will talk to Julie tomorrow and tell her, I can't do Torchwood anymore. I..." 

"What??? No Gareth! Don't you dare! This is you dream as much as mine. You love playing Ianto." 

"But how am I supposed to kiss and love you as Ianto but switch it off, when the cameras stop rolling?" Gareth was desperate and clawed at John's shirt. 

"We just have to make it work." John tipped Gareth's head up, so he could kiss the younger man gently. When they parted again, Gareth put his head back on John's chest, lost in his thoughts. John closed his eyes and allowed himself to enjoy the company of the young man. It didn't take long for both men to slip into sleep and so neither of them noticed when the door opened and Scott stepped inside, stopping at the sight of his partner and Gareth. 

He knew it, had known it for a long time. This was just the first time he actually ran in on them. He stood at the open door for a couple of minutes, finally confronted with the decision he had been avoiding for so long now. He loved John, it would kill him to leave that man. John had never betrayed him before, at least not that he knew of, but watching John and Gareth interact, Scott had sensed there was more going on than friendship. Despite everything, he really liked the young man, loved his dry humour and to be honest the smile and the blue eyes were to die for. He could understand, why John was attracted to the Welsh man. The accent was only the icing on the cake. 

Scott made a decision. He closed the door and walked further into the room, dropping his bag next to John's on the table, he shrugged of his jacket and toed of his shoes before he climbed onto the bed on John's other side, carefully not to wake sleeping men. He snuggled closer, sharing his partner's chest with another man. Reaching a hand out, he cautiously carded his fingers through Gareth's hair, smiling when the young man mumbled contently in his sleep and snuggled even closer to John's side. 

Scott sighed, maybe this would work. They had to do a lot of talking in the morning, but for now, he just closed his eyes and played with the strands at Gareth's neck just like John did earlier.

FIN**

**Author's Note:**

> There is a sequel to this, picking right up, where we left the boys here. The sequel is called "The Day After".


End file.
